About Winnipeg

Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Manitoba. Winnipeg is also one of themost culturally diverse cities anywhere. Some 100 languages are represented in the region and Winnipeg is well known for it 's cultural achievements and flourishing arts scene.

The Winnipeg Metropolitan Area (which includes Winnipeg and surrounding rural municipalities) has a population of 730,100 and is the eighth largest Census Metropolitan Area in Canada.

Winnipeg lies in close proximity to hundreds of lakes. including Lake Winnipeg, Canada's fifth largest lake and the world's eleventh largest, as well as Lake Manitoba and Lake of the Woods.

The city is located near the geographic centre of North America, on a flood plain at the confluence of theRed and Assiniboine rivers, a point now commonly known as The Forks.

A resident of Winnipeg is known as a Winnipegger.

Geography and Climate

Winnipeg is situated just east of the longitudinal centre of Canada (near the geographical centre of North America), and approximately 100 kilometres (60 miles) north of the border with the United States.

It is near the eastern edge of the Canadian Prairies, and about 70 kilometres (45 miles) south of Lake Winnipeg. It is situated in the floodplain of the Red River and is surrounded by rich agricultural land.

Winnipeg has 4 distinct seasons, spring, summer, fall and winter.

Winnipeg Summers are warm to hot and often quite humid. The summers in Winnipeg are similar to those experienced in cities in the Midwestern United States. Winnipegers enjoy the beaches and lakes during this season.

Spring and autumn are shorter and highly variable seasons. The weather is characterized by an abundance of sunshine throughout the year.

Winter can begin as early as November and as late as mid-December. Winnipeg receives less snow than Toronto but because the weather averages below zero, the snow tends to stay until spring. Winnipegers embrace the season with outdoor activities such as skating on the Canada's longest river skating trail or cross-country skiing in our many numerous parks

An interesting fact is that Winnipeg is located farther south than cities like London or Amsterdam.

Winnipeg is one of Canada's sunniest cities, and the weather in all seasons is characterized by an abundance of sunshine.

The city receives an average of 2,372 hours of sunshine per year compared with 1,928 hours at Vancouver and 2,037 hours at Toronto. July is the sunniest month, and November the least sunny.

Winnipeg, like Chicago, is also known as a windy city. The average annual wind speed is 16.9 km/h (10.5 mph), predominantly from the south. The windiest weather usually occurs during blizzards or thunderstorms. April is the windiest month, and July the least windy.

Economy

Located at the eastern edge of the great plains of Western Canada, Winnipeg plays a prominent role in transportation, finance, manufacturing, agriculture and education.

Because all rail and highway traffic between eastern and western Canada must travel through or near the city, it is often called the "Gateway to the West".

Winnipeg is an important regional centre of commerce, industry, culture, finance, and government.

In 2003 and 2004, Canadian Business magazine ranked Winnipeg in the top 10 cities for business. In 2006, Winnipeg was ranked by KPMG as one of the lowest cost locations to do business in Canada.

Winnipeg's largest employers are either government or government-funded institutions: the Province of Manitoba, the City of Winnipeg, the University of Manitoba, the Health Sciences Centre, the Casinos of Winnipeg, and Manitoba Hydro.

Winnipeg is the site of he headquarters of 1 Canadian Air Division, as well as home to several reserve units.

The Royal Canadian Mint located in eastern Winnipeg is where all circulating coinage in Canada is produced. The plant, established in 1975, also produces coins for many other countries in the world.

Winnipeg is also home to the National Microbiology Laboratory, Canada's front line in its response topandemics and one of only 15 Biosafety level 4 microbiology laboratories in the world.

Real Estate

Winnipeg"s real estate market is amongst the most affordable in Canada. Our market is strong and home value continue to increase at a moderate rate every year. This means that we don't have the severe up and severe down swings that can be found in other provinces. Economists have said that because Winnipeg has such a diverse economy and the fact that more people are moving into the Province than moving out, it is those facts that have contributed to the stability of its real estate. Our population is continueing to increase each year. A Realtor can best advise you on the status of Real Estate in Winnipeg or you can visit the Winnipeg Realtors' website at www.winnipegrealtors.ca or call Karen Tereck at 204-453-7653.

Education

In Manitoba, education is governed principally by The Public Schools Act and The Education Administration Act, as well as regulations made under both Acts. Education taxes are calculated based on property values and collected by the City of Winnipeg on behalf of the Province. This means that approximately 49% of your property tax bill is property taxes and 51% is made up of education taxes. In 2012, the Provincial Government gave a property tax credit of $700.00 on the annual tax bill for those owner occupied properties. This still happens today.

Rights and responsibilities of the Minister of Education, Citizenship and Youth and the rights and responsibilities of school boards, principals, teachers, parents and students are set out in the legislation.

There are two major universities, two community colleges, a private Mennonite college and a French university in St. Boniface.

The University of Manitoba is the largest university of the province of Manitoba, most comprehensive and only research-intensive post-secondary educational institution. It was founded in 1877, making it Western Canada’s first university. In a typical year, the university has an enrollment of 24,542 undergraduate students and 3,021 graduate students.

The University of Winnipeg received its charter in 1967 but its roots date back more than 130 years. The founding colleges were Manitoba College 1871, and Wesley College 1888, which merged to form United College in 1938.

Winnipeg is also home to numerous private schools, both religious and secular.

For a list of all Festivals, click here. Winnipeg is also known as "Festival City" and was called the Cultural Capital of Canada in 2011.

Construction on the planned Canadian Museum for Human Rights has started at the Forks and expected to be completed by 2014. It will be the first Canadian national museum outside of the National Capital Region. It is expected to boost Winnipeg's tourism like the Guggenheim Museum did to Balboa, Spain.

Winnipeg hosted the Pan-American Games in 1967 and 1999, the only city other than Mexico City to have hosted the event twice. The 1999 Pan Am Games were the biggest multi-sport event ever held in Canada, and the third largest ever held in North America, after the Atlanta and Los Angeles Olympics.

In recent years, the province has very successfully played host to many sporting events such as the Grey Cup, the World Curling Championships and the Canada Summer Games.

Recreation

Residents of Winnipeg have access to 2.5 million acres of parkland and more than 100 golf courses in the province. Winnipeggers can fish in one of the province’s 100,000 pristine lakes, hike over the sand dunes in the desert near Carberry, or stroll along the many long, sandy beaches. In fact, Grand Beach on Lake Winnipeg is one of the best in North America. You can watch the huge and varied flocks of birds from the boardwalks at Oak Hammock Marsh. The choices are almost endless. Best of all, there are so many great outdoor locations and activities that it is easy to get away from the crowds.

Shopping

Transportation

Winnipeg has had a public transit system since the 1880s, starting with horse-drawn streetcars. Electric streetcars from 1891 until 1955, and electric trolley buses from 1938 until 1970.

Winnipeg Transit now operates entirely with diesel buses. Recently Winnipeg has implemented a rapid bus transit system for many parts of the City of Winnipeg.

The city is directly connected to the United States via Highway 75 (a northern continuation of I-29 and US 75). The highway runs 107 kilometres to Emerson, Manitoba, the 8th busiest border crossing. Much of the commercial traffic that crosses in Emerson either originates from or is destined to Winnipeg. Inside the city, the highway is locally known as Pembina Highway.

Winnipeg is unique among North American cities its size in that it does not have freeways within the urban area. From any edge of the City, it will take approximately 20 minutes to get downtown.

A modern four-lane highway called the Perimeter Highway was built in 1969. It serves as an expressway around the city (also known as a ring road) with interchanges and at-grade intersections that bypass the city entirely. It allows travellers on the Trans-Canada Highway to avoid the city and continue east or west uninterrupted.

Utilities & Services

Home Service Providers

Local Media

Winnipeg has two daily newspapers, six English television stations, one French television station, 25 AM and FM radio stations and a variety a regional and nationally based magazines that call the city home.